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Post by lwagne on Oct 18, 2014 17:41:18 GMT -5
Hi everybody,
We got a big wad of fresh ginger at the Farmer's Market, sort of looks like Iris rhizomes. We saw some stuff about putting it in vodka, I imagine it extracts it. But, has anyone ever shaved/shredded it and dried it in the thermowell? It's pretty but I imagine that left in this state, it will disintegrate like garlic, or worse.
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Post by sporko on Oct 18, 2014 19:41:00 GMT -5
I can't speak for drying it... but you can plant it and have your own wad next year. Kari will have to reply with details. I am only the hired help.
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Post by vaporvac on Oct 18, 2014 19:48:41 GMT -5
I just read an OLD post by chipperhiker about planting shallowly. Maybe she'll pipe in with how that turned out. too. Why don't you try doing a few lwagne? Just make sure they don't turn too crispy, although that might be good! I have kept mine in sherry, but now so long as I keep it well wrapped I find it lasts a long time. That's relative, of course, because I actually use a lot of fresh ginger. It's also good pickled.
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Post by karitx on Oct 18, 2014 21:05:04 GMT -5
I always just cut it into "serving" sizes and freeze it, then dice or grate it while still frozen. I have considered trying to pickle it, but I've never gotten that ambitious. I've been growing it in pots for the last few years and it's pretty easy to do. The web page I used for growing instructions recommends storing the ginger in brandy: www.tropicalpermaculture.com/growing-ginger.html
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Post by vaporvac on Oct 18, 2014 21:15:29 GMT -5
I freeze everything, but somehow never considered ginger. Thanks for the idea. I think I'll try growing it too
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Post by lwagne on Oct 18, 2014 21:44:06 GMT -5
I think I will plant a little, shred and dry a little and freeze a little. Had it tonight and it is fabulous - maybe a little in brandy too~~ Thanks
karitx - thanks for the site. My husband will be thrilled. I think I'll pop off a few rhizomes and plant inside for spring
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 24, 2014 23:24:26 GMT -5
That wasn't me that gave any advice about planting ginger, vaporvac. I live in zone 5a - way too cold to even contemplate growing ginger, unfortunately. I've never considered trying to grow it inside, though maybe I should.
I have some memory of Berlyn talking about growing it in Texas, but she hasn't visited here in forever. : (
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Post by vaporvac on Oct 24, 2014 23:54:47 GMT -5
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 27, 2014 14:10:29 GMT -5
Makes me want a greenhouse more than ever. I have such a list of things I'd like to grow that are hard up north - figs, for one, bay laurel, ginger...
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Post by vaporvac on Oct 27, 2014 19:52:57 GMT -5
What zone are you? Here in 6 we can grow hardy figs with some protection. My neighbor's came through the polar vortex just fine. In fact, I'm considering planting a couple come Spring.
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 28, 2014 16:11:15 GMT -5
I'm in Zone 5a, so a good bit colder than where you live. We routinely hit -20-25° F in the winter, a least for a few days. I think I might be able to grow a fig if I were willing to really baby it, but I don't know that I'm willing to go that far. Of course, I'd be willing to build a greenhouse…
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Post by karitx on Oct 28, 2014 17:13:16 GMT -5
Makes me want a greenhouse more than ever. I have such a list of things I'd like to grow that are hard up north - figs, for one, bay laurel, ginger... I suppose you don't want to know that I grow all of those... When people here ask me what's the one thing they should grow, I always recommend a bay laurel. The leaves taste nothing like the stuff from the grocery store spice aisle.
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 28, 2014 22:38:25 GMT -5
Brag, brag, brag, karitx!!! I am completely jealous. Somehow I doubt you're jealous of my winters, LOL.
I came across my first living bay laurel tree in a New Mexico greenhouse a couple years ago and fell in love with the scent. It was in the mountains, so hence the greenhouse. Even if I never cooked with it (which I would, of course!!!), I would still be in heaven just to be able to smell it whenever I was nearby.
I love to keep a rosemary plant in the house for the same reason - just to be able to jostle it every now and again.
So speaking of amazing scented plants, there is a lemon-scented allspice plant growing in the Denver Botanical gardens hothouse (well, as of 3 years ago) that I fell completely in love with when I lived in CO. Every time I'd visit, I had to make a special trip to the hothouse just for this plant. The leaves smelled incredible when you rubbed them. I can't tell you how hard I struggled to stop myself from pinching off a piece of it to try growing on my own. I behaved and left it alone, but I've looked for sources online ever since, to no avail. Plain allspice, yes, lemon allspice, not so much.
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Post by cinnabar on Oct 29, 2014 9:25:02 GMT -5
My rosemary plant is about 13 years old and going strong, outside in summer then inside. Sage and thyme grows well the same way too. I got some lemon balm seeds a few years back found that they survived so put them in a pot for indoor use. The thyme, lemon balm and oregano grow like weeds for me. Got some lavender from my mom's garden this summer, will see how it works "up nort". It's so nice to brush the leaves and take a deep breath.
The only thing that even produced in the garden this cool summer was cilantro, which I don't care for, but the seeds(coriander) are plentiful. I dried a quart of them for grinding/toasting for curries.
Still need to try ginger again. Keep talking about it here and get me motivated to try it. I have a lot of recipes that call for fresh ginger.
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Post by karitx on Oct 29, 2014 10:24:34 GMT -5
chipperhiker, I don't really envy cold winters, but I do envy pleasant summers! I wonder if this is your lemon-scented allspice (it's toward the bottom of the description): Pimenta racemosa var. citrfolia I love fragrant plants, too. I have a handful of antique roses that will perfume the entire yard when they are in bloom. I lost the most fragrant one this year, Marquise Boccella, so I may have to replace it next spring.
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 29, 2014 12:08:58 GMT -5
That may well be it, karitx! Thank you. I found two vendors selling it, but it's out of stock at both sites. Darn it.
You hit the nail on the head about bee balm, Cinnabar! It is a prolific self-seeder that will happily take over entire flower beds, so it really is weed-like. I love the smell, though, so I imagine I'll keep it around.
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Post by cinnabar on Oct 29, 2014 13:48:10 GMT -5
Bee Balm I use for tea, but is not the same as cilantro. Cilantro looks like parsley when it sprouts, and competes for space with the free range arugula and ground cherries. Depending on my mood, some will make through the summer, others become compost.
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Post by karitx on Oct 29, 2014 14:46:10 GMT -5
We have to grow cilantro over the winter here. It dies off well before tomato (salsa) season starts.
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Post by Chuckie on Oct 29, 2014 14:59:38 GMT -5
I love fragrant plants, too. I have a handful of antique roses that will perfume the entire yard when they are in bloom. I lost the most fragrant one this year, Marquise Boccella, so I may have to replace it next spring. Katrix: Have you ever smelled "Gertrude Jekyll" roses? OMG, they have a smell to DIE for!!!! ONE rose in a vase in the house and the entire HOUSE smells of roses!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by karitx on Oct 29, 2014 17:15:19 GMT -5
I don't think I've "met" that particular rose, but I really like some of the other David Austin roses. I'll have to see if I can find that one next spring, too!
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Post by sporko on Oct 29, 2014 18:18:42 GMT -5
I love to keep a rosemary plant in the house for the same reason - just to be able to jostle it every now and again. ...and rosemary here will absolutely take over. Kari's current seasoning rosemary plant was planted from a 4 inch pot. It is massive. I accidentally knocked a huge chunk out of it a year ago pulling a fence post out with the tractor. You can't even see where the damage occurred now. It totally replaced itself.
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 30, 2014 1:25:50 GMT -5
More envy. All this talk about fragrant plants has me craving a rosemary "fix." It must be time for me to buy my next sacrificial rosemary plant. Every rosemary I've ever had has croaked. Not at my hands, but at the hands of either my husband or my mother. I'll have a plant going along just fine, then I go away for a week, only to come home to a plant that has either been drowned or desiccated.
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Post by karitx on Oct 30, 2014 9:55:55 GMT -5
My first few rosemary plants were the ones they sell pruned into Christmas tree shapes and all of them perished. I have pretty good luck growing things outside, but I am the Grim Reaper for most houseplants.
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Post by chipperhiker on Oct 30, 2014 23:40:23 GMT -5
I find that they are pretty fussy plants when they're indoors. They seem to have a high water demand and so can dry out pretty quickly, yet they can't handle overwatering at all.
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